Midnight Echoes_Crimson Ops

by Mandy M. Roth

  He’d been there.

  “You don’t have to pretend to be interested. I’m boring. You can say it. Rose tells me all the time. I think she’s a redheaded version of our dad. You know, a total hellion.”

  Bhaltair chuckled. “Aye, I would agree. She looks much like yer mother but acts most like yer father.”

  “I’m starting to think I was adopted,” she said, only partially kidding.

  He eyed her over. “Yer a green-eyed beauty who is able to take a man’s breath with simply a look.”

  She blushed and lowered her gaze momentarily. “Thank you.”

  Meena wasn’t sure what brought on his statement. Bhaltair wasn’t normally known for being overly nice or for handing out compliments. That being said, he must have felt bad for her and maybe even a little bad about ignoring her for so long. Because any man who looked like him and had been alive for centuries certainly wouldn’t find her attractive.

  Chapter Two

  Looking toward the windows, Meena couldn’t help but notice how many stars were out. It hit her many times in her life that her father, grandfather, and Bhaltair were never allowed to enjoy the sun. Stars were all they knew now. While she loved the night and had always preferred it to the day, the thought saddened her. “Bhaltair, do you ever wish you were different?”

  “How so?”

  She shrugged, growing quiet. He eased his hand into hers, standing next to her, and the action felt normal even though they didn’t make a habit of holding hands. In fact, she didn’t recall a time prior to that night when they’d ever done so.

  She didn’t care what had brought it on. She just didn’t want it to end.

  “Are you asking if I miss the sun?” he questioned.

  “I’m sure you miss it,” she said, easing closer to him, her other hand touching his upper arm. She was left leaning against him, holding his hand and touching him, her head resting on his shoulder as they both faced the windows. She stared longingly out at the dark sky, enjoying the closeness to Bhaltair. “I love the night. Stars are so beautiful. So is the moon. It takes my breath away every time I see it full in the night sky. But I can’t imagine never seeing the sunrise again. That has to be hard.”

  Bhaltair stayed silent, but he didn’t move away. He remained perfectly still.

  Meena caressed his upper arm absentmindedly as she continued to stare out at the night. “It’s stunning.”

  “Aye, you are,” he said softly.

  Sure she’d heard him wrong, Meena glanced up at his profile, her gut tightening at the sight of him there. Everything about the man seemed to ooze power and sex appeal, yet he was always so reserved, so guarded. She lived for the rare moments when she caught a glimpse of him smiling. They were few and far between.

  “Tell me your thoughts, Meena,” he said, still facing the windows. “I have never been able to read you.”

  She knew as much, though she wasn’t sure why. None of the vampires she knew could read her thoughts. It was the only thing that set her apart from humans. In every other way, she was the same. “I wish I was different. I wish I was more like all of you.”

  He said nothing as she found herself tearing up. She didn’t want to appear pathetic in front of him, but she couldn’t seem to stop her emotions as they continued to build.

  “I wish I didn’t break so easily,” she whispered, the words something she’d never spoken out loud before.

  “Aye.” He tugged her gently until she was standing directly in front of him, still facing forward. He wrapped his arms around her waist, easing against her, his front pressed to her back. “As do I.”

  She flinched and tried to pull out of his hold. He didn’t let go. He held her there gently yet firmly. He was so powerful without even trying that she wouldn’t be moving until he permitted it. “Bhaltair, I see the way you all worry about me. I know Grandpa and Dad want to wrap me in a protective bubble. If I could change what I am, I would. I’d be like you. I’d be strong and fearless.”

  He simply held her, and strangely, it was exactly what she needed. She didn’t care what had brought it all on, or why he was doing it. She didn’t want it to end. She put her hands over his and rested her head back on his chest.

  When he spoke, his deep voice seemed to reverberate through his powerful chest, right into her. “You asked if I wished I were different. I dinnae use to wish for such a thing. I enjoyed being as I am—more than a man. As of late, I often find myself wishing I were more human and less supernatural.”

  She gasped and twisted in his arms to be able to see his face. “Why? You’re perfect as you are.”

  “You see me as perfect?” he asked, his dark brown gaze lingering on her as he eased his hold, allowing her to step out of his grasp. She didn’t go far.

  She couldn’t hide her partial laugh. Was he serious? He was about as perfect as guys came. “Uh, yeah. Do you have a fault? If so, I’ve never noticed.” She held up her hand, ticking off his qualities on her fingers. “You’re incredibly loyal and very tender-hearted, even though I think you try to hide that from most people.”

  He raised a brow quizzically.

  “You can pretty much beat up anything that looks at you funny. You know how to deal with both Grandpa and my dad. You’re patient. I mean, just the other day Striker was here, but you kept your temper in check, and didn’t try to kill him. Even when Grandpa and my dad both went at him. And you’ve got this nice mix of sophisticated yet funny and free.”

  Striker, a PSI operative with a thick Scottish accent, and a sense of humor that got him into trouble often, had come by to drop off paperwork for her grandfather. He’d ended up goading her father and her grandfather to the point the two vampires both took swings at the shifter male.

  Bhaltair grunted. “I’ve no patience for Striker. I simply dinnae wish to have to clean his blood from the floors. Should he make another pass at you, I will end him.”

  Meena smiled up at him, thinking back to the pickup lines Striker had attempted on her before trying the very same lines on Rose. “Bhal, he’s a little too cocky for my liking.”

  Something she couldn’t read passed over his face. “Many women find him verra pleasing to the eye.”

  Striker was extremely good looking, no question there, but he was no Bhaltair. She loved Bhaltair’s darker features and his quiet reserve. She loved how he was sexy without coming off as too sure of himself, and she had always been a sucker for his dark, smoldering gaze. “He’s not too shabby, but…well, he’s no you.”

  “No me?” he pressed.

  Pink stained her cheeks. She couldn’t believe how bold she was being. “I think you’re way sexier.”

  He appeared amused, and she instantly backed away, feeling childlike.

  “Forget I said anything. I’ll go. I shouldn’t be here anyways. It’s not like these training sessions are for me.”

  She tried to go, but he caught her arm lightly. He caressed her flesh with his thumb. The very feel of his hand on her arm made her breath catch. She closed her eyes faintly, nearly leaning into the feel of him once more. Something about the proximity made her want to submit to him—to surrender fully.

  Snap out of it, she thought, but it did little to change her situation. If anything, she pressed against him more. It wasn’t as if they did it often—or ever before tonight—but she wanted to be held again by him. She’d always wanted him to touch her in such a way, but she’d never come right out and asked him to. And she never thought he really would.

  “Meena, look at me.”

  The very idea of making eye contact after she’d confessed to thinking he was sexy nearly sent her scrambling from the training facility. She may be human, but she was betting her embarrassment could give her speed that rivaled any vampire’s. And if he kept making skin-to-skin contact with her, there was a better-than-average chance she’d show what his touch was doing to her.

  “Ask me how it is I see you,” he said, still making contact with her.

  She paused, t
he moment’s joy fading fast. “I already know. I heard you arguing with Grandma about me once. She was trying to convince you to work with me on self-defense, and you told her I was too human for you to bother with.”

  He stiffened. “You misunderstood my meaning.”

  “Hard to misunderstand that, don’t you think?” The sting of the words still haunted her. She wanted to be like her family. She wanted to be like Bhaltair. Special. Different. Not too human to bother with.

  He exhaled slowly. “Meena.”

  Moisture coated her eyes as she stared up at him. “I need to be on my way. The campus librarian is holding a book for me that I requested, and I promised to pick it up by nine. Night, Bhaltair.”

  She was also possibly meeting a man there that she didn’t want Bhaltair to know about. He wouldn’t understand and he’d tell her grandfather and father. And then they’d forbid her from seeing the man anymore. No one really thought much of her visiting the campus library. She did it often enough. It was well known how much she loved it because it was far more than just a regular library. It was magnificent.

  The campus library was really a front for one of the many PSI archival departments spread out all over the world. Meena had spent a great deal of time visiting different ones when she was a child and had come to love and appreciate the abundance of history they housed. So many events cataloged. So many artifacts tucked away, kept safely stored under the noses of humans. She loved history, both human and supernatural.

  “Meena.”

  She looked away, unwilling to make eye contact with Bhaltair as a lone tear eased down her cheek. He didn’t need to see the effect he had on her. It was bad enough she’d allowed herself to be upset once more with his words of her humanity, spoken months ago. She didn’t need to expose herself emotionally to him any more.

  A wave of silence swelled steadily between them. Seconds ticked by, each feeling much longer than they were. Still, no one uttered a single word, nor did they pull away from one another. Just when Meena was about to break and fill the deafening silence with idle chatter, Rose burst into the training room.

  Her sister was there, standing in the doorway, chomping gum, picking her fingernails, and looking annoyed. “Meena, can you give me a lift to the house? I need to shower and get changed for my date.”

  “Sure,” she said, pulling away from Bhaltair, wiping her cheek as she did. Rose wouldn’t understand the tears or why they’d come about. She couldn’t relate. She wasn’t “too human”. “I’m heading past the house as it is.”

  “Awesome. You’re the best, sis.”

  “Actually,” Bhaltair said, his voice slicing through the room. “I was going to ask Meena to remain behind this evening.”

  Rose perked. “Going to try to teach her to defend herself again, Walter? That didn’t end so well the last time.”

  Meena groaned. “Please stop calling him that.”

  “Why? It’s his name in English,” she said.

  “But does he really strike you as a Walter?” Meena asked, knowing her sister was just being difficult for the sake of it. “Really?”

  Rose grinned. “You’re adorable. You defend him all the time.” She looked at Bhaltair. “Just yesterday Dad was trying to convince Mom that the world would be better off if you were living in Scotland again instead of ten minutes from us. Meena went nuts. You should have seen it. She told Dad she’d move too if he talked Grandpa into relocating you.”

  Bhaltair appeared surprised. “Truly?”

  “You ready?” Meena asked her sister, wanting away from Bhaltair’s questioning gaze. It was no secret that her father and Bhaltair rarely, if ever, saw eye to eye. It was also evident to Rose that Meena had a soft spot for Bhaltair.

  Rose’s grin widened. She was up to no good. “Sure, but don’t you want to know why Walter wants you to hang out here?”

  She glanced at Bhaltair. “Maybe later.”

  “Or, he could come with us. I mean, you never have plans, right? Bet Old Walter there would like to get out.”

  Meena swallowed hard. While Bhaltair was numerically old, he didn’t look a day over thirty. And he never would look any older than that. “Actually, I need to pick up a book at the library and then stop past Carol’s.”

  Rose’s face scrunched. “Is Carol making another dress for you? Don’t you have enough?”

  Meena grinned, but it was forced. She had special plans coming up with a man who she liked, but he wasn’t Bhaltair. “This one is for a date.”

  “Would this date happen to be with the tall, hunky, dark-haired guy I spotted you with a few days back?” her sister inquired.

  “Do you skulk in bushes?” Meena asked, only partially joking.

  “When I can.” Rose smirked. “Tell, tell. Is it the same guy I saw you having coffee with the other evening?”

  Blushing, Meena nodded. “Yes.”

  “And isn’t he the same guy I see in the science wing at the university all the time? He a teacher’s assistant or something?”

  Meena bit her lower lip, sensing Bhaltair staring intensely at her. “Yes, he’s in the science wing a lot. He’s not a teacher’s assistant.”

  Rose whistled. “Holy crap, Batman, you’re dating a professor. Meena, I’ve never been prouder. He’s hot. Way hot. Tell me he’s dynamite in the sack.”

  Meena’s gaze whipped to Bhaltair. This wasn’t a topic she wanted discussed at all, let alone in front of him. She sucked in a deep breath, her cheeks close to the color of her sister’s hair. She had to force herself to look away and back to her sister. “Are you ready to go or not?”

  Rose pointed, her eyes the size of half-dollars. “Oh, Meena! He is, isn’t he? He looks like he would be. I mean, hot with a toned, tight body. He’s as big as Bhaltair. Didn’t know humans came built that hot.”

  Meena tensed at the suggestion her date was human.

  Her sister caught the movement. “Meena, he is human, right? Dad gave you the giant ‘no boys’ lecture years ago and then he added the bit that he might be willing to permit you to date a human guy since you’re so…well, human.”

  Fighting the urge to tear up once more, Meena stood proud. “It doesn’t matter. I’m an adult, and what I do with my spare time is my concern and my concern alone. And I’d appreciate you stopping with the digs about me. I’m painfully aware of what I am and what I’m not. And if I happen to find someone who makes me happy and who doesn’t care about my limitations, that is my business. Period.”

  Rose’s jaw dropped. “He’s a supernatural?”

  Meena grunted but managed a slight nod.

  “Sis, he could hurt you.” Rose lowered her voice like it would keep the vampire near them from hearing. “Meena, during sex he could accidentally kill you. It’s not safe for you to be with a supernatural male. He could rip you to shreds without meaning to.”

  “Everything comes down to sex with you, doesn’t it?”

  Rose merely stared at her.

  With a shake of her head, Meena attempted to walk away. Rose rushed toward her and touched her. “Dammit, Meena, this is serious. I don’t want you hurt. I love you. And Dad would lose his mind if he found out you’re seeing a supernatural. Let’s be honest, Walter here doesn’t look too hip to the idea either.”

  Bhaltair actually looked like he wanted to snap something in two. Meena hoped it wasn’t her. He said nothing as he turned his back to her. For some strange reason, she felt as if she’d betrayed him.

  That was absurd. They weren’t a couple. Still, seeing Bhaltair’s back to her and the way his shoulders were squared left something inside Meena demanding she go to him. That she ease his pain.

  She glanced briefly at her sister. “Rose, take my keys and go wait in my car. Please.”

  Her sister didn’t protest. She did as asked for once.

  Meena touched Bhaltair’s back. “Are you going to tell my father?”

  “I should.” He didn’t face her.

  “I know, but I’m asking if you’re go
ing to?”

  “You may nae like Rose’s words, but they’re true,” Bhaltair said. “A supernatural male could hurt you without meaning to. He could kill you when all he wanted to do was love you, lass.”

  “I don’t believe that. If he loves me, he’ll find a way to keep from hurting me.”

  He looked over his shoulder partially. “I hurt you, Meena. I broke your bones when I was trying to train you. Do you think I meant to do that?”

  She pressed herself against his back and slid her arms around his waist. Without thought, she kissed his back, not once, but twice, before putting her forehead to it. She squeezed him gently and closed her eyes. The action felt totally natural, even though she’d never done anything of the sort with him before. She just had to touch him, to calm him. To keep him from slipping into an angry state. Though she wasn’t sure why. “I’ve never thought you hurt me on purpose.”

  He stiffened.

  She put her cheek to his back, taking full advantage of whatever was happening between them. It felt right. “Bhal, since then, since you figured out I wasn’t as sturdy as a supernatural, you haven’t harmed me again.”

  He snorted, his large hands moving over her small ones. “Then see me instead of another supernatural male.”

  Shocked, she almost believed what he was saying before realizing he was probably trying to ease the tension. She chuckled and kissed his back again. “Thanks for making me laugh. I was worried you’d throw a fit and summon my dad or grandfather.”

  “The idea of seeing me as more than a friend is humorous?” he asked.

  She giggled at the idea that he was being serious. “As if you’d ever see me as anything more than your best friend’s human granddaughter. Let’s be honest here. I know how you see me—as too human to bother with. I need to go. Are we all right?”

  He cupped her hands gently, squeezing them lightly. “Stay.”

  “Bhal, I have a book to grab, and then I need to see if my dress fits.”

  He caressed her hand and her breath caught.

  “Let me take you,” he said. “We can spend the night together, running yer errands.”